1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a safety brake device for moving machine elements designed to prevent injuries to the extremities of the operator of a machine
2. Description of Related Art
A number of safety devices are already known which are intended to reduce the danger of accidents to the operator from moving machine elements such as tools, blades, presses, or similar where the workpieces are fed or removed manually.
These safety devices are in most cases very simple in design and do not offer full protection for the operator, since these only protect parts of the machine elements or tools, or the machine elements have a relatively long stopping time and it is thus still possible to reach into the hazardous area.
Most of the safety devices currently known consist of separating mechanical safety covers which partially cover the hazardous areas, or emergency stop devices which cut off the energy supply and are tripped manually or through contact with switching devices. Nonetheless, a considerable residual hazard remains since, due to their rotary or kinetic energy, the moving machine elements are not stopped immediately. Even though the drives of the machines are increasingly equipped with brakes, the stopping times in each case amount to several seconds, which means that injuries cannot be prevented.
A safety device is also already known in which the saw blade of a circular saw is brought to a standstill in the event of an emergency by means of an aluminum claw. However, a disadvantage here is that the aluminum claw needs to be replaced after each use.